Technovation with Peter High (CIO, CTO, CDO, CXO Interviews)
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881 episodes
859: As the digital landscape continues to evolve rapidly, executives are quick to understand that doing the same thing they did before isn't going to get them where they need to go in the future. In a panel from our February 2024 Metis Strategy Symposium, Sunbelt Rentals CDTO JP Saini and Grainger CTO Jonny LeRoy join Metis Strategy Co-Head of Research, Media, and Executive Networks Steven Norton in a discussion about digital as an enabler of scale and how these executives are evolving their organizations’ business practices through the integration of technology and people to achieve growth and efficiency. JP and Jonny share insights on their companies' journeys toward digital transformation, focusing on scaling operations, enhancing customer experiences, and improving predictive maintenance and service quality. These executives also cover the significance of culture, value alignment, and leadership in driving innovation and operational change. The discussion also covers the role of AI in enhancing productivity and decision-making highlighting the practical applications both JP and Jonny have identified and the challenges they’ve encountered in managing the costs of emerging technology. Finally, both technology leaders conclude with strategies they’ve implemented within their organizations for maintaining a forward-looking mindset and inspiring teams to navigate the dynamic landscape of technology and business.
858: The world of travel today is defined by digital experiences and powered by technology. At Marriott, CTO Naveen Manga is leading a digital transformation across the company’s 30 brands to bring guests the digital experiences they desire and transform the hospitality industry as a whole. In this episode of Technovation, Peter High speaks with Naveen about technology transformation and Marriott’s new tech-enabled headquarters, which serves as a symbol of how the company has embraced technology in its corporate strategy. Naveen provides insight into the new technology capabilities his team has delivered, including a revolutionary composable architecture, and a range of other initiatives. Finally, Naveen looks ahead at trends in artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies and shares how he has fostered a culture of innovation in his team to be able to act upon these trends quickly.
857: In the last decade, companies across a variety of industries have experienced the ascent of the as-a-service model. At Nile Secure, Co-Founder and CEO Pankaj Patel has pioneered the category of network-as-a-service featuring built-in security, automation, and continuous monitoring for maximum performance. In this episode of Technovation, Peter High speaks with Pankaj about this category of network-as-a-service and the broader mission of Nile. Pankaj reflects on his early career at Cisco, the challenges he saw in the IT landscape, and how the partnership with Cisco’s former CEO John Chambers led to the eventual establishment of Nile Secure. He also details the market transitions that influenced the company’s founding, the impact of AI and automation in network engineering, and what the future ahead looks like for the industry. Finally, Pankaj looks back on starting a company as a grandfather, balancing family life with work, and the secrets to his career success including early customer interaction and emphasis on team building.
856: With a wide range of levers at their disposal, technology and operational executives are strategically positioned to be masters of speed within their respective organizations. In this episode, we feature a panel from our February 2024 Metis Strategy Digital Symposium where Jen Felch, Chief Digital Officer and Chief Information Officer of Dell, and Mojgan Lefebvre, Chief Technology and Operations Officer of Travelers speak with Peter High about how they drive speed and agility at their companies. Both executives discuss cultivating a culture of speed and innovation on their team, leading the change management associated with the mindset shift toward agility, and the methods they use to accelerate and automate processes within the organization. Jen and Mojgan also dive deeper into the types of technology they are using today and the emerging technologies like advancements in artificial intelligence that are on their radar for the future.
855: As digital capabilities become more important to competitive positioning, companies have begun to rethink the composition of their digital and IT workforces. In a panel from our February 2024 Metis Strategy Digital Symposium, Brink’s Global CIO Neelu Sethi and Zurich North America COO Barry Perkins join Metis Strategy Partner and Central Office Lead Michael Bertha in a conversation about optimizing workforce composition for digital maturity. Tune in to the discussion to hear these executives speak about shifting workforce compositions within their organizations, focusing on storytelling when driving the mindset shift, and the cultural implications of the new composition.
854: The pandemic has caused executives from across industries to think through how to best prepare their organizations for times of uncertainty and develop a digital strategy that fosters resilience. In a panel discussion moderated by Metis Strategy Partner and West Coast Lead Chris Davis, Shobie Ramakrishnan, CDTO of GSK, and Diego Silva, CIO of Gates Corporation, discuss building resilience through technology amid disruption. Shobie, hailing from a long-standing science and pharmaceutical company, emphasizes the importance of innovation and the dual approach of playing offense and defense in digital and technological implementations to impact global health positively. Diego shares insights from Gates Corporation's manufacturing and materials science advancements, highlighting how investing during downturns can prepare a company for future success. Both executives explore the significance of cybersecurity, AI responsibility, and supply chain management in maintaining a resilient organization and underscore the need to balance investment in innovation with risk management to navigate uncertain times effectively.
854: Advancing and maintaining digital capabilities can be a tall task especially if for organizations that are not digitally native, or those that have been in existence and operating before the onset of the Digital Age. In this episode of Technovation, we feature a panel from our February 2024 Metis Strategy Digital Symposium with FM Global Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer Srini Krishnamurthy and Northrop Grumman Chief Information Officer John Russell speaking on the topic of advancing digital capabilities in non-digital-native organizations. Both executives discuss their digital strategies, automating processes within their organizations, and the role technology overall plays in the broader corporate strategy. Additionally, these executives share their forward-looking perspectives on the advancement of artificial intelligence, the opportunities it will present, and the challenges that will be faced.
852: Technology executives within an organization are no longer solely regarded as a support function having had their responsibilities grow into key business decision-makers with a seat at the table. According to Total Quality Logistics (TQL) CIO Ryan Kean, tech execs are “business leaders first and technology leaders second.” In this episode of Technovation, Peter High speaks with Ryan about the massive growth TQL has experienced over the past few years and the elements of his strategy that have helped facilitate that growth. Ryan discusses the broader modernization of the logistics industry, the focus he has placed on people and talent development, and the importance of having a sound data strategy. He also shares the work being done to improve the business user experience for the clients TQL serves, the company’s shift toward a product-oriented approach, and the interplay between automation and process innovation at the company. Ryan dives deeper into the Hackathons TQL hosts to bring about innovative ideas within the company, the advancements in AI that have come from those events, and the emphasis placed on celebrating the successes of talent within the company. Finally, Ryan looks ahead at the broader impacts of trends in emerging technologies and reflects on the keys to his career success.
851: Following the COVID-19 Pandemic, companies operating within the biopharmaceutical space are seeing an increased need to stay ahead of technology trends and keep pace with the speed at which digital technology is evolving. At Danaher, the leading producer of technology and services for biopharma companies, CTO James Ross is leading a digital transformation that sets the foundation for future agility and “innovation at the speed of life.” In this episode of Technovation, Peter High speaks with James about the company’s transformation, the strategic areas of focus for his team, and how he is shifting away from the legacy OpCo model towards an IT-centric model. James also discusses the importance of Danaher’s Data and Analytics Strategy, their exploration of AI tools, and other areas of innovation. Finally, James looks ahead at the trends in technology, reaffirms the growing popularization of the metaverse, and reflects on the keys to success from his career journey.
850: With patient care being the top priority for healthcare providers, offering digital experiences for clients and associates and integrating technology into every aspect of operations is crucial in staying ahead of the competition. In this episode of Technovation, Jane Moran, the Chief Information and Digital Officer at Mass General Brigham, discusses the impact of integrating technology in healthcare. Jane shares her experiences transitioning into the non-profit healthcare sector, the strategic unification of technological operations within Mass General Brigham, and the emphasis on improving patient care through digital innovation. She notes the catalytic effect the pandemic had on digital innovation across industries, explains the advancements that her team has made in identifying use cases for AI tools, and provides a deeper look at the newly founded digital research operations team at the company. Jane also delves into her passion for fostering greater health equity and championing diversity. Finally, she shares her insights on the technology trends that are on her radar and reflects on the keys to her career success.
849: In a world of work defined by remote employees, management skills are crucial for executives to retain talent, develop culture, and achieve success. In this episode of Technovation, host Peter High interviews David Dodson, a seasoned entrepreneur, author, and academic at Stanford Graduate School of Business, to discuss Dodson's career journey, from his initial foray into investment vehicles called search funds to his ongoing involvement in over 40 businesses. Dodson highlights the importance of entrepreneurship through acquisition and shares the strategy behind the notable success of companies like Apple and Amazon. He also offers in-depth insight on critical skills for a leader gleaned from his book 'The Manager's Handbook: Five Simple Steps to Build a Team, Stay Focused, Make Better Decisions, and Crush Your Competition'. These skills include building teams, managing time, using advisors, sticking to priorities, and obsessing over quality. With real-world examples, Dodson highlights how these skills contribute to successful execution and, ultimately, business success.
848: The experience a company delivers to its customers is critical to its success, making it the number one priority for many technology and digital leaders. As such, a paradigm shift is beginning to emerge transitioning from being product-oriented to being experience-oriented. In this episode of Technovation, Ally’s President of Consumer & Commercial Banking Diane Morais and Chief Information, Data, & Digital Officer Sathish Muthukrishnan jointly discuss the digital financial institution’s journey and its focus on being experience-oriented. Throughout the conversation, both executives expand on the company’s digital capabilities they’ve developed and explain how the Ally Technology Operating Model (ATOM) was the answer to creating a better banking experience. Similarly, both Sathish and Diane share details around the One Ally initiative which aims to bring the company’s multiple customer experiences to a single platform powered by data and artificial intelligence. Finally, both executives reflect on the opportunities that have come from challenging times, the innovation process they’ve developed, and the culture of collaboration they’ve fostered to drive forward this experience-oriented mindset.
847: The digital experiences for both customers and employees are experiencing an overhaul thanks to new artificial intelligence tools at executives’ disposal. But what value do these tools provide? In this episode of Technovation, Munir Hafez, CIO of TransUnion, discusses the role that AI is playing at the company and how it is improving the digital experiences the company provides. He explains how he leverages AI tools in business operations, developer workflows, and the overall employee experience. Munir also talks about how he integrates security into the innovation process and how he manages the multitude of integrations coming from the company’s M&A activities. Finally, Munir looks ahead at the trends in technology that he is keeping an eye on and reflects on the keys to his career success.
846: Enterprises are rapidly accelerating their artificial intelligence strategies as new tools emerge, and the executives at these companies are constantly looking for ways AI can solve big problems that have plagued them for decades. Seeing this niche as an opportunity, Gustavo Sapoznik, the founder and CEO of ASAPP, has led the company toward building products that leverage AI/ML tools to solve the world's most difficult problems. In this interview, Gustavo sits down with Peter High to describe the journey he went through starting up ASAPP, the value it provides companies, and what inspired him to start down the path of entrepreneurship. Throughout his career, Gustavo has gathered many unique insights on the evolution and potential of artificial intelligence and shares some of what he has learned throughout the conversation. More broadly, Gustavo discusses his personal entrepreneurship journey and his advice for those looking to follow in his footsteps.
845: As with most industries, artificial intelligence has had an immeasurable impact on the entrepreneurial journey and the types of offerings being provided to enterprises from start-ups. In this episode of Technovation, Samsara co-founders Sanjit Biswas and John Bicket join Peter High in a conversation about the genesis story behind the company, its rationale for selling into physical operations, and how artificial intelligence is changing the start-up landscape. Both executives explain the role of AI at the company, the convergence of IT and OT within the industrial sector, and how they came to focus on the industrial sector when starting Samsara. They share how they overcame the learning curve associated with operating in an unfamiliar industry, the evolution of generative AI applications within the industrial sector, and how they’ve built their team with the right skills in technology. Finally, they share their lessons from scaling the business to become a publicly traded company, the trends in technology that are on their radar for the future, and the learnings they’ve taken away from their entrepreneurial journey.
844: The railway industry has gone through a number of technological transformations since its inception, and is again transforming to take full advantage of the latest tools available to rail companies. In this episode of Technovation, Judith Apshago, CDO at Amtrak, joins Peter High in a discussion about her team’s efforts in modernizing the company’s legacy systems. Judith explains the method of bringing mobile technology to employees as a way of improving efficiency and productivity as well as implementing sensors and AI tools into newly manufactured fleets in order to ensure safety and security. She also talks about her focus on sustainability and reducing emissions over the next few years. Finally, Judith reflects on her career journey and provides advice for executives looking to grow into a similar role as hers.
843: The introduction of DevOps and Agile practices revolutionized organizational management, but while these practices helped organizations tackle once-daunting challenges, other problems still remained. In order to help these companies develop better mechanisms for problem-solving and create high-performance teams, award-winning CTO Gene Kim along with his co-author Dr. Steven J. Spear wrote Wiring the Winning Organization with a groundbreaking new theory of organizational management. In this episode, Gene joins Peter in a conversation about this theory and how organizations can win by using three key approaches: slowification, simplification, and amplification. Throughout the conversation, Gene explains each of these three approaches, describes in detail the research he conducted on their benefits, and exemplifies what a successful adoption of that approach looks like. Finally, Gene shares his broader perspective on the evolution of IT, leadership, and organizational management.
842: Software development, like the tech landscape as a whole, is constantly evolving, and the pace of change is faster than ever. Now, with the advent of generative AI and ChatGPT, a significant paradigm shift is occurring. Varun Mohan, co-founder and CEO of the code acceleration toolkit Codeium, joins Peter High on the broadcast to explain this shift and how generative AI is being leveraged to accelerate coding and the software development lifecycle. Varun shares the genesis story of Codeium, the benefit his infrastructure background had on building the company, and the trends he noticed signaling the impact of artificial intelligence on software development. He shares the future ahead for generative AI as a whole, the value proposition that Codeium’s generative AI toolkit offers its customers and the best practices that executives should follow when partnering with generative AI vendors. Finally, Varun talks about how Codeium competes with larger-scale organizations, the company's plans with its new Series B investment, and the lessons he learned from his career.
841: The product development lifecycle includes a list of many disparate stakeholders that if not aligned properly, can result in disagreements, delays, and potential negative financial impacts. At Northrop Grumman, CIO John Russell has developed a “digital thread” that brings every stakeholder together to align the team before the product hits production. In this interview, John discusses the concept behind the “digital thread” and other methods he has adopted to create a more efficient enterprise. He explains the sanctity of data in a highly sensitive industry, the advantages of implementing automation across the organization, the implications of AI on talent development, and the critical process of including cybersecurity early in the product development process. Finally, John looks ahead at trends in AI and remote collaboration and reflects on the key elements of his career ascension.
840: Adopting a customer-focused culture requires the implementation of internal processes that allow the organization to quickly deliver improvements to the client experience. In this interview, Michael Hicks, CIO at Jackson, shares how he has fostered a customer-oriented culture by understanding the customer journey and setting up an agile architecture with the customer at the center. Michael underlines Jackson's commitment to customer service and a strong technology strategy that includes data, AI, portfolio management, and more. He speaks about the rationale behind centralizing IT across the organization, separating the CIO and CTO responsibilities, and adopting agile practices on his team. Given his diverse set of leadership experiences, Michael shares how his non-IT background prepared him for the CIO role and what lessons he has brought to his current role. Finally, Michael looks ahead at trends in APIs, AI, and digital experiences that continue to shape the financial industry.
839: The healthcare industry is constantly evolving and finding uses for new and emerging technologies. Zeeshan Tariq, CIO at Zimmer Biomet, shares his experience exploring the use cases of AI in this latest episode and explains his metrics-based approach to driving that transformation internally. Zeeshan describes the company’s transition from purely medical devices to a full healthcare solutions provider and what new operating models came along with that transition. He details the company’s adoption of KPIs for every facet of performance and why it has led to immense success in benchmarking over the last few years. Zeeshan also discusses the value of artificial intelligence, the advantages of collaborating with strategic partners, and the challenges of collaborating with a global team. Finally, Zeeshan looks ahead at the trends in emerging technologies that are on his radar and the advice he has for those early in their careers.
838: There’s no shame in being called a “geek”. In fact, according to Andrew McAfee, it’s actually a compliment. In this episode, Andrew, co-founder of MIT’s Initiative on the Digital Economy, shares insight into the research he’s conducted while writing his latest book “The Geek Way”. He explains the ‘Four Norms’ of geeks; science, ownership, speed, & openness; and how companies can foster and navigate a culture that follows ‘the geek way’. Andrew discusses what it means to adopt Agile, how to leverage Agile practices to accelerate the pace of innovation, and why companies often get trapped in planning-heavy processes. Finally, Andrew looks back on his career and the learnings he has drawn from his writing process.
The media and publishing industry has undergone a massive evolution over the years as more and more readers prefer a digital experience. To talk about this shift in customer expectations towards digital, Sanjay Bhakta, Chief Product & Technology Officer at Condé Nast, joins Peter High on the broadcast and speaks about the company’s digital-first strategy. He begins with an overview of his role that combines product and technology and explains the rationale behind having a single executive focused on both. He shares his insights on centralizing the IT function across his global team, building offshore capabilities like the Condé Nast Technology Lab in India, and his transition from traditional IT to broader engineering responsibilities. Finally, Sanjay talks about the trends on his radar for the coming years, the ethics behind generative AI in media, and his reflections from across his career.
836: The world of technology is increasingly becoming more and more connected offering valuable data to enterprises offering such products. At Textron, this data provides critical insight into product usage and allows the company to offer true value-added services to its customers. On this episode of Technovation, Global CIO Todd Kackley explains how he has built a better-connected business and aligned the IT function that reports to him. He discusses the collaboration between the Divisional CIOs, ascending to the Global CIO post, and the North Star Strategy he follows to foster this alignment. Todd also talks about the technology he uses including the adoption of generative AI tools, the advantages of digital twins, and the necessity of connected products. Finally, Todd covers his talent strategy, succession planning, and the trends in technology that are on his radar for the future.
835: No matter what the latest technology is that’s available to IT organizations, the need for talent and a seamless digital employee experience is a constant for organizations to compete in the digital age. This episode of Technovation features a panel from our December 2023 Metis Strategy Digital Symposium where Munir Hafez, CIO of TransUnion, and Muru Murugappan, CIO of BNSF Railway, spoke with Metis Strategy’s Steven Norton on optimizing the digital employee experience. Muru shares insights from the company’s digital transformation and how it has impacted the employee experience, speaks to the impact AI has had on improving safety for employees, and explains how AI tools have increased internal productivity for the organization. Munir makes the case for the digital experience citing the importance of that experience being “human-centric” and details the way he has optimized the developer experience balancing efficiency with security. Finally, both panelists provide their strongest piece of advice for other executives looking to drive a digital employee experience transformation at their enterprise.
834: The introduction of ChatGPT and generative AI this past year has pivoted the conversation around AI in terms of how this new technology fits into a company’s broader transformation strategy. In a panel from our December 2023 Metis Strategy Symposium, Vishal Gupta, CITO of Lexmark, and Sumedh Mehta, CIO of Putnam Investments, join Metis Strategy’s Steven Norton in a conversation about driving an enterprise AI mindset and the implications the new technology has across the business. Vishal adds color to his role and team structure at Lexmark, the value he aims to deliver with new AI capabilities, and the importance that trust holds when driving a mindset shift. Sumedh expands on this with details on how he breaks down the silos present between teams at Putnam, collaborates with strategic partners to deliver AI capabilities, and brings talent into the organization to realize a successful AI strategy.
833: The advent of artificial intelligence comes with a host of new cybersecurity risks that technology and business leaders alike must consider when adopting these tools. In a panel from our most recent Metis Strategy Digital Symposium, Peter High spoke with Martin Stanley, Chief of the Strategic Technology Branch at the US Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), to discuss the ways executives can prepare for these risks and the work he is doing to stay ahead of bad actors in the space. Martin explains the relationship between CISA and NIST and the basis behind their collaboration on the AI Risk Management Framework. Finally, Martin shares the advantages of collaboration with both private and public sector organizations on AI cybersecurity and what the path ahead looks like for cybersecurity innovation.
832: As AI tools become more prevalent across companies, executives are putting more emphasis on refining processes and implementing new technology to compete in a future defined by data. In a panel from our most recent Metis Strategy Digital Symposium, Vish Narendra, CIO & SVP of Global Business Services at Graphic Packaging, and Filippo Catalano, CIDO at Reckitt, join Metis Strategy’s Alex Kraus on the virtual stage to discuss how they are leading the transformation in preparation for the data-driven future and the key ingredients necessary to ensure success. Throughout the discussion, both executives explain the importance of data hygiene and proper data governance as a part of a company’s data strategy and what it looks like to operationalize these new AI tools available to them. Vish and Filippo also touch on the impact AI will have on business including the value they hope to see from the use cases they’ve explored, the implications the technology will have on talent strategy, and generally what the art of the possible looks like. Finally, each panelist shares their perspective on the challenges they are facing when it comes to AI and their strategies for hedging their bets.
831: Once executives implement the much-talked-about AI and GenAI tools into their company’s operating models, the next step in their AI journey is scaling those tools. In a panel from our December Metis Strategy Digital Symposium, Yasir Anwar, CTO/CDO of Williams-Sonoma, and Cisco Sanchez, CIO of Qualcomm, join Metis Strategy Partner and West Coast Lead Chris Davis in a discussion about how they’ve scaled their respective AI-first operating models and the impact they’ve seen on AI tools on their business. Yasir talks about beginning the journey with a moonshot idea and tracking the evolution of AI within the company’s operating model. Cisco shares details about Qualcomm’s Imagine platform used to explore the art of the possible with GenAI and the impact it has had on the overall AI journey. Finally, both executives discuss challenges, risks, and future ambitions when it comes to implementing AI into more of their business models.
830: A primary focus of the CIO is increasing the pace at which IT operates. To Marsh McLennan’s CIO Paul Beswick, a fundamental part of his role is what he describes as increasing the velocity of IT. In this interview, Paul shares the methods by which he accomplishes this which includes forging the right culture, creating central capabilities, and enabling efficiency. He also talks about exploring the art of the possible through innovation, organization, and driving business value. Specifically, Paul explains the inception of the company’s in-house generative AI tool “LenAI”, the process he went through to adopt GenAI internally, and how GenAI might impact IT more generally. Finally, Paul reflects on the keys to success across his unique career path, provides advice on ascending to leadership positions, and looks ahead at the trends that are on his radar for the future.
